---
title: 'getCookie | Cypress Documentation'
description: Get a browser cookie by its name in Cypress.
sidebar_label: getCookie
---

<ProductHeading product="app" />

# getCookie

Get a browser cookie by its name.

## Syntax

```javascript
cy.getCookie(name)
cy.getCookie(name, options)
```

### Usage

<Icon name="check-circle" color="green" /> **Correct Usage**

```javascript
cy.getCookie('auth_key') // Get cookie with name 'auth_key'
```

### Arguments

<Icon name="angle-right" /> **name _(String)_**

The name of the cookie to get. Required.

<Icon name="angle-right" /> **options _(Object)_**

Pass in an options object to change the default behavior of `cy.getCookie()`.

| Option    | Default                                                     | Description                                                                         |
| --------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `domain`  | Hostname of the current URL                                 | Retrieves the cookie from the specified domain                                      |
| `log`     | `true`                                                      | Displays the command in the [Command log](/app/core-concepts/open-mode#Command-Log) |
| `timeout` | [`responseTimeout`](/app/references/configuration#Timeouts) | Time to wait for `cy.getCookie()` to resolve before [timing out](#Timeouts)         |

<HeaderYields />

`cy.getCookie()` yields a cookie object with the following properties:

- `domain`
- `expiry` _(if specified)_
- `hostOnly` _(if specified)_
- `httpOnly`
- `name`
- `path`
- `sameSite` _(if specified)_
- `secure`
- `value`

`cy.getCookie()` is not a query. It will not retry, or wait for the requested
cookie to exist.

#### When a cookie matching the name could not be found:

`cy.getCookie()` yields `null`.

## Examples

### Session id

#### Get `session_id` cookie after logging in

In this example, on first login, our server sends us back a session cookie.

```javascript
// assume we just logged in
cy.contains('Login').click()
cy.url().should('include', 'profile')
// retries until cookie with value=189jd09su
// is found or default command timeout ends
cy.getCookie('session_id')
  .should('have.property', 'value', '189jd09su')
  .then((cookie) => {
    // cookie is an object with "domain", "name" and other properties
  })
```

You can check the cookie existence without comparing any of its properties

```javascript
cy.getCookie('my-session-cookie').should('exist')
```

If you need the cookie value, for example to use in a subsequent call

```js
let cookie

cy.getCookie('session_id')
  .should('exist')
  .then((c) => {
    // save cookie until we need it
    cookie = c
  })

// some time later, force the "cy.request"
// to run ONLY after the cookie has been set
// by placing it inside ".then"
cy.get('#submit')
  .click()
  .then(() => {
    cy.request({
      url: '/api/admin',
      headers: {
        'my-token-x': cookie.value,
      },
    })
  })
```

#### Using `cy.getCookie()` to test logging in

:::info

Check out our example recipes using `cy.getCookie()` to test
[logging in using HTML web forms](/app/references/recipes#Logging-In),
[logging in using XHR web forms](/app/references/recipes#Logging-In) and
[logging in with single sign on](/app/references/recipes#Logging-In)

:::

## Rules

<HeaderRequirements />

- `cy.getCookie()` requires being chained off of `cy`.

<HeaderAssertions />

- `cy.getCookie()` will only run assertions you have chained once, and will not
  [retry](/app/core-concepts/retry-ability).

<HeaderTimeouts />

- `cy.getCookie()` should never time out.

:::caution

Because `cy.getCookie()` is asynchronous it is technically possible for there to
be a timeout while talking to the internal Cypress automation APIs. But for
practical purposes it should never happen.

:::

## Command Log

**_Get a browser cookie and make assertions about the object_**

```javascript
cy.getCookie('fakeCookie1').should('have.property', 'value', '123ABC')
```

The commands above will display in the Command Log as:

<DocsImage
  src="/img/api/getcookie/get-browser-cookie-and-make-assertions-about-object.png"
  alt="Command Log getcookie"
/>

When clicking on `getCookie` within the command log, the console outputs the
following:

<DocsImage
  src="/img/api/getcookie/inspect-cookie-object-properties-in-console.png"
  alt="Console Log getcookie"
/>

## History

| Version                                  | Changes                                                                                            |
| ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [5.0.0](/app/references/changelog#5-0-0) | Removed `experimentalGetCookiesSameSite` and made `sameSite` property always available.            |
| [4.3.0](/app/references/changelog#4-3-0) | Added `sameSite` property when the `experimentalGetCookiesSameSite` configuration value is `true`. |

## See also

- [Cypress Cookies API](/api/cypress-api/cookies)
- [`cy.clearCookie()`](/api/commands/clearcookie)
- [`cy.clearCookies()`](/api/commands/clearcookies)
- [`cy.getCookies()`](/api/commands/getcookies)
- [`cy.setCookie()`](/api/commands/setcookie)
- [`Cypress.Cookies.debug()`](/api/cypress-api/cookies)
